Modern armored vehicles are provided with multi-layer, e.g. scale-like or lamella-like reinforced armored walls which represent multiple and structured targets which can be attached with high-velocity impact projectiles, e.g. subcaliber projectiles, only with difficulty. In practice, when the projectile consists of a single body adapted to impact as a unit against the armored wall, considerable energy is lost and the impact itself may result in a breakup of the projectile so that penetration is not achieved.
To improve the penetrability of projectiles against multiple and structured targets of the aforedescribed type, it has been proposed in U.S. Pat. No. 3,877,380 to provide a main core over which, in a cap-like manner, a plurality of pre-cores are provided so that a multiplicity of bodies of high kinetic energy engage the target successively. These various cores can be composed of the same material or of different materials, can be of the same size and mass or of different sizes and mass, and can be separated from one another by layers of soft-tempered copper.
The purpose of the cap-like configuration of the pre-cores is to prevent cracks from being generated in the body upon impact which cause the portions of the body to fall away from one another and reduce the penetration.
While such projectiles have an improved penetration over one-piece impact projectiles which lose a good part of their kinetic energy upon the initial contact of the leading portion of the projectile with the target, experience has shown that the multi-core arrangement does not have maximum penetrability and can be fabricated only with difficulty.
The aforedescribed copending application represents an improvement over the earlier system and describes a subcaliber projectile designed to be fired from a smooth-bore barrel and which is fin-stabilized and provided with a drive cage.
A still earlier copending and commonly assigned application, Ser. No. 949,067 filed Sept. 5, 1978, describes a multi-core projectile with individual cores adapted to impact at high kinetic energy against structured and multilayered armored vehicles.